Comments on: Tracy Sigler — Basement Skateboard Mini Ramp

By: Tracy Sigler

Tracy Sigler — Sun, 02 May 2010 23:26:30 +0000

Hey Jack, No masonite, no special paint, no problems. If I were building this for outside use I would probably have as much pressure treated lumber as I could for the framing, at least for the stuff close the ground or sitting on concrete blocks. And use some special paint.

I think a 2 footer could fit in that space, just make the decks short-ish and the trans a little tighter. You won’t need much flat. My ramp is 12 ft wide. The details are in the specs at the top of the article. Five feet is not wide enough to do much. Go for at least 8 ft.

With that amount of money you can build something pretty decent, just draw it up, make a list of the parts you need, and check the local lumber prices.

Check out rampplans.org. There are tons examples in the forums that you can use for inspiration. Good luck.

By: Jack Champeau

Jack Champeau — Sun, 02 May 2010 23:01:51 +0000

Umm, so let me get this straight. You didn’t use masonite? How does it ride? Aren’t you getting slivers and stuff even with the paint? And what paint? Any suggestions for outdoor ramps, what would differences be (in type of lumber/costs)? I have a little 5 foot wide by 14 foot-ish long concrete pad outside and was thinking of building a simple little two footer. Sound good, or would two feet be too steep for such a small pad, length-wise? Also, I didn’t catch the width of your’s, and would you please do a mini-sesh on only five feet of your ramp (width-wise) and tell me if it is too tight. I have the room for about a 13-14 foot wide one and then I could incorporate a bank and extention, but it would obviously cost way more and I would have to do some landscaping to level the ground. I’m a teenager so I don’t have too much money, around $600-700 I’m willing to work with, so would it be worth the time, money, and building frustration for the finished product or should I just stick with the smaller one? Your welcome to come help and skate the finished product
Thanks

By: Tracy Sigler

Tracy Sigler — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:08:21 +0000

Erik, I used a jig/scroll saw. If you take your time it’s not hard to get a smooth cut. Plus, any minor imperfections won’t be noticed once the top layers are bent into place.

Checked your site. Your artwork is awesome! Keep it up.

By: erik

erik — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:44:44 +0000

Just wondering what you used to cut the transitions.
I’ve heard of people using a jigsaw or handsaw.
It makes it a little bit hard to get the transitions smooth.

By: Tracy Sigler

Tracy Sigler — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:32:57 +0000

Hey Tameem,

1. I think that’s about average. I went with a 6.5 ft radius and it feels perfect. My ramp is only half as tall as your plan. On a taller ramp is probably better to err on the big side when deciding radius.

2. I wouldn’t go less than 8 ft of flat on a ramp that tall.

3. I don’t know what’s typical for coping on a mini ramp. This one is definitely about personal preference. I would err on the side of making the notches deeper, because it’s not hard to shim it out later if you feel you need more pop. Just tack your deck surface down until you’re sure. If you need to shim it out you can slide the deck surface to fit.

Hope that helps. Keep on skateboarding. Tracy

By: Tameem

Tameem — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:47:11 +0000

Hi Tracy, I am designing a half pipe for myself and while looking for info, found your site. Thanks for the excellent info and presentation. I have three questions. 1.) Radius of the transitions: I am planing for 6ft. high, 6ft. radius, transitions with an 8ft. flat between. Is 6ft. an “average” radius, not too hard/easy? I could enlarge or decrease radius and height if required.
2.) Flat: Is 8ft. between 6ft. trans. good? As planned pipe is 8ft. wide x 24ft. long, including 2ft. decks. 3.) Coping: You show a desired coping height of 1/4″. Is this typ. height for face and deck? What about 1/2?
I know all these conditions are probably personal preferences. However, its been a long time since I skated and I don’t have much to reference. Thanks very much, T.

By: Tracy Sigler

Tracy Sigler — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:31:25 +0000

Hey Billy, Glad you dig it, and thanks for your comment. You better hustle to get it done before Christmas! Let me know if you have any questions. Tracy

By: Billy

Billy — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:17:33 +0000

Excellent build! I’m jealous that your ramp gets to stay inside. It’s been 20 years since I’ve built ramps. Time to build one for Christmas for my own kids now. You have given me my confidence back. Very encouraging. Thanks for sharing it with us.

By: mike

mike — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:48:39 +0000

hey, nice job! question for you – in the diagram you have for the coping notch, the cut looks different from the actual ramp. in the diagram the bottom cut looks straight, but on the ramp it looks like the bottom cut is angled down?? also, it would be great to see a close up of the 2x4s around the coping area to see exactly how you positioned them… haha pipe dream seeing as this post is a couple years old… anyway looks great, i’m about to build something similar!

By: david corr

david corr — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:48:54 +0000

wow! thank you so much. i have to do this thing called a personal project, its a project that i have to do for school (the IB program if youve heard of it) and i was thinking about making a mini ramp, but didnt know how much it costs or even a plan for a good sized mini ramp. this thing is perfectly done and well documented. thanks a lot. this thing is most definitely bossable.